Pulitzer Prize–winner Hank Klibanoff shines light on civil-rights cold cases of Terrell County, GA, in “Buried Truths, Season 4”

Season 4 of the Peabody Award-winning podcast series, “Buried Truths,” investigates “Race & Rage in Terrible Terrell” and premieres 2/22/23 on wabe.org.

(February 9, 2023 — Atlanta) WABE, Atlanta’s home for NPR and PBS, is proud to announce the fourth season of the WABE Studio’s Peabody Award-winning podcast series “Buried Truths” begins streaming on wabe.org and other podcast platforms February 22. 

The new season features nine episodes telling the stories of James Brazier—a young Black father killed by white police in 1958 Terrell County, Georgia, for daring to purchase a new Chevrolet Impala—and other civil-rights cold cases from that area and era. Subscribe to “Buried Truths” on your favorite podcast platform or follow @wabeatl to never miss an episode.

View the “Buried Truths” Season 4 Trailer here.

Hosted by journalist, professor, and Pulitzer-prize-winning author Hank Klibanoff, “Buried Truths, Season 4: Race & Rage in Terrible Terrell” relies on personal letters, investigative files, case notes, and legal pleadings to bring to life the unjust murders of Brazier and Willie Countryman, a second black man killed without legal cause in 1958 Terrell County, a community deep in southwest Georgia known in the ‘50s for peanuts, cotton and brutal violence against Black people. Or, as the sheriff then termed it, “carrying out the South’s orders.” 

Episodes include:

  • Episode 1 | Life in Terrible Terrell
  • Episode 2 | The police come for James Brazier
  • Episode 3 | The witnesses in the jail
  • Episode 4 | The violent death of Willie Countryman
  • Episode 5 | Light in the heart of darkness
  • Episode 6 | Sorrow down the generations
  • Episode 7 | Hattie Brazier files suit
  • Episode 8 | A tale of three churches
  • Episode 9 | “I’m not brave like you”

“Buried Truths, Season 4: Race & Rage in Terrible Terrell” is produced by WABE Studios, with Hank Klibanoff acting as executive producer and host. David Barasoain is the series’s senior producer, and Richard Halicks is its lead writer. Students from Emory University’s Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project (GCRCCP) provided research and interview support.

Buried Truths: Behind the Storytelling Event, 2/28 sponsored by PNC Bank 

To commemorate the premiere of “Buried Truths, Season 4: Race & Rage in Terrible Terrell”, WABE Studios, along with the National Center of Civil and Human Race and sponsor PNC Bank, is hosting an exclusive and intimate look at the artifacts and images that informed this season’s research and storytelling 7­­–9 p.m. Thursday, February 28, at the National Center for Civic and Human Rights. Special guests include series producer and host Hank Klibanoff, writer/producer Richard Halicks, and GCRCCP students. RSVP to attend the FREE event at wabe.org/btseason4. 

About The Host

Hank Klibanoff is a veteran journalist, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and a son of the South. Hank co-authored The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and The Awakening of a Nation, which won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for history. A native of Alabama, Hank was a reporter and editor for more than 35 years at Mississippi newspapers, The Boston Globe, and The Philadelphia Inquirer before serving as managing editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He holds an undergraduate degree in English from Washington University in St. Louis and a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Hank is currently a professor at Emory University, where he directs the Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project.

ABOUT WABE

WABE, formerly Public Broadcasting Atlanta (PBA), operates public media stations WABE (90.1FM) and WABE TV (Channel 30), Atlanta’s original, independent, non-profit sources for news and local stories and choice for NPR and PBS. Our stations deliver fact-based journalism and inclusive, engaging, cultural content that informs, inspires, reflects, and empowers the millions who call the Greater Atlanta area home. WABE’s programs, podcasts, and events make Atlanta’s stories and storytellers accessible and relevant across a variety of platforms for our diverse audience of listeners, viewers, visitors, and members. Go to www.wabe.org for additional information.